January 2016 Newsletter

New Year, New Beginnings 

  Ringing in the New Year typically will make folks start to assess things in the past year along with what God holds in store for the upcoming one as well. Amy and I feel that 2016 will be one of many new starts and transitions for us and ministry and a number of ways. 

  As you all will see, Amy and I have chosen to produce our own newsletters in-house to be more diligent with the funding that we receive and cut our costs and see letters be more efficient in the near future. We are excited to provide this to our partner team and keep the information new and fresh and up to the minute for all of you to be ‘in the know’ as it unfolds.

  Join us knowing that 2016 will be a year of many ‘firsts’ with our ministry as we have retreats planned for the spring and a brand new summer camp planned which will happen in June in North Georgia. We feel this will be another Christ-infused banner year!

"It's never goodbye when you're family."

  

Chrisraine being baptized.

Chrisraine prepares
for her baptism.

 Farewells at any time of year are especially difficult, however mid school year moves are so tough on our teens due to the uncomfortable adjustments and integration into an already begun school year wherever they move. One of our longest-tenured middle school teens had to say farewell to us this season, however, God showed us that we needed to be feeling tears of joy with one of our dedicated MS students was moving when she shared “how Club Beyond taught her what it really means to be a follower of Christ and they were being baptized because of Club Beyond.” Humbly we are thankful for sending her.

Sharing our part of the world with others

   Over the recent Christmas and New Year holidays, we welcomed Amy’s folks and her sister to come visit us in our neck of the woods and experience our part of the country and where God has been working in us and the mission for military teenagers. Throughout their time with us, we enjoyed moments of rest and relaxation at our home in Hinesville, plus we got to take them to Georgia’s Golden Isles, aka, the islands off the Georgia coast. Being that we experienced above normal seasonal temperatures at this time of year in their visit of 80 degrees and above, it was fitting to show them some of our own favorite spots along the coast.  

All of us at the Tybee Island lighthouse.

  Amy and I love to have people come visit us in this wonderful place we call home and work alongside so many wonderful military families and their teens. It’s such an honor and blessing to be able to host as many people as we have throughout our time in Southeast Georgia. We have been able to provide a refuge for other YFC missionaries looking for a few days of respite outside of the communities they serve. In addition to hosting friends and family when they come to visit us, we have also used the extra space in our home to add to our family. In September, we welcomed a young man named Alex into our home. We came across this young man through our life group and he was in need of a place to stay. We thought we could provide something temporary for him, but his presence in our home grew on us and we discovered he had taken up permanent residence in our hearts. Although he is 22 years-old, we have adopted into our home and our hearts as part of our family. Alex is very gifted in many areas including photography and carpentry. He has been working on two home renovation projects and has even helped us on a few home improvement projects around the house.

Amy's folks with us at the St. Simmon's Island lighthouse.

We realize that not everyone can make the trip to our corner of the country, but should you ever find yourself in or near Southeast Georgia, feel free to let us know and we would love to share our part of the world with you. If your travels don’t bring you to us, we enjoy sending out our monthly newsletters to each of you every month so that even through this small snapshot, we can continue to share a piece of our world and the work we’re doing for the Kingdom of God with you.

All of us with Alex (behind to the right of the pirate) at the Pirate's House Restaurant in Savannah.

Humbly thankful for each one of you that continue to keep us on mission in 2016,

Phil & Amy Parsons

Celebrate with us!!

• One of our amazing students, Chrisraine, chose to dedicate her life to Christ in baptism before moving to Italy! 
• Bradwell Institute, which is one of our local high schools, has allowed us to bring our ministry and mission to their school starting with a morning small group on Fridays!

 Join us in prayer: 

• Over half a dozen of our students and their families had to move mid-year and we had to say farewell to some impactful loved friends. 
• As we start our Spring '16 semester, pray for new starts in many areas as well for our mission as we are awaiting news on direction soon.